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Eclogites in the high‐pressure (HP) and ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) belt record important information about the subduction process and evolution history of the orogenic belt. The Luliangshan eclogites surrounded by granitic gneiss or paragneiss as lenses are exposed in the western segment of the North Qaidam UHP metamorphic belt, northwestern China. Petrology, mineral chemistry, and P–T pseudosection modelling show that the eclogites have experienced a multi‐stage metamorphic process. The peak eclogite‐facies metamorphic stage, is characterized by omphacite in matrix and as inclusion in garnet, with the peak mineral assemblages of garnet + omphacite + rutile + quartz at T > 790°C and P > 25.5 kbar. The initial HP granulite‐facies retrogression is characterized by the symplectite of diopside + plagioclase around omphacite, with P–T conditions of 911°C and 16.9 kbar. The subsequent amphibolite‐facies stage is characterized by amphibole + plagioclase symplectite around the clinopyroxene, with the metamorphic conditions of 674–686°C and 6.4–6.9 kbar. Zircon U–Pb analyses yielded two metamorphic age clusters: (a) HP granulite‐facies metamorphic age of 422–425 Ma, and (b) amphibolites‐facies retrograde age of 397–420 Ma. The protolith of eclogite have geochemical characteristics similar to those of normal mid‐ocean ridge basalt (N‐MORB); and the varying εNd(t) values (−6.3 to 2.1) indicate that the Luliangshan eclogites were derived from a mantle source with rare crustal contamination. Combining these data with previous studies, a multi‐stage tectonic model can be proposed: In the Early Neoproterozoic, the protolith of the Luliangshan eclogites were emplaced into ancient continental crust; during 460–430 Ma, following the oceanic subduction, the subduction of continental crust was dragged by the oceanic slab and continue to subduct towards the Qilian Block, and metamorphosed at the depth of at least 75 km. After a long and slow exhumation process, it returned to the shallow crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The North Qaidam ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt in the northern Tibetan Plateau is considered as a typical Alpine-type UHP metamorphic belt due to the Early Paleozoic subduction of the Qaidam Block beneath the Qilian Block. The well-preserved Paleozoic metatexite migmatite, diatexite migmatite, felsic sheet/dyke and anatectic granite in the North Qaidam UHP metamorphic belt provide us with an excellent opportunity to study the generation, transport and final fate of crustal melt and geodynamic processes associated with orogenesis. Based on structural relationships, petrology, geochronology, whole-rock geochemistry and Sr Nd isotope data, the Early Paleozoic anatexis during oceanic subduction to continental collision in the North Qaidam UHP metamorphic belt can be further divided into three stages of development ~470 Ma, 446–428 Ma and 432–420 Ma. The first-stage granitic leucosomes are rich in K, poor in Na with low Sr/Y and enrichment of large ion lithophile elements (LILEs), which were probably derived from partial melting of ancient felsic gneiss in continental arc circumstances during oceanic subduction. The second-stage Na-rich leucosomes and tonalite plutons are characterized by high Na, Sr, Sr/Y and La/Yb and low heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), with positive ε Nd (t) values of 0.1–4.3 and zircon ε Hf (t) values of 8.3–10.2, similar to typical tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorites (TTGs). These TTG-like magmas were produced through partial melting of newly emplaced gabbroic rocks with arc affinity under high-pressure (HP) granulite-facies conditions in a thickened lower crust during continental collision. The volumetrically significant migrated plutons evolved from TTG-like melt will become segments of continental crust and contribute to crustal growth, with partial residual products of HP granulite and/or garnet pyroxenite to the mantle by delamination. The third stage of anatexis was preserved in both migmatitic UHP gneiss and eclogite in the Xitieshan and Luliangshan terranes. The Kfs-rich felsic leucosomes inside UHP gneisses in the third stage are characterized by high alkali contents and low mafic component with FeO T + MgO + TiO 2 <2%. In trace element distribution diagrams, these Kfs-rich leucosomes exhibit parallel patterns to their host gneisses but lower element contents and slightly positive Eu and Sr anomalies. The Pl-rich leucosomes within the retrograde eclogite have geochemical features as follows: (1) rich in CaO, Na 2 O and poor in K 2 O, with Na 2 O/K 2 O ratios >2.0; (2) high La/Yb and Sr/Y, and low Y and HREEs; (3) high Al 2 O 3 and low Mg# values; and (4) enriched in LILEs(e.g., Rb, Ba, K, Sr, Pb) and poor in high field strength elements (HFSEs). Partial melting of UHP eclogite and felsic gneiss during the initial retrogression stage with Pl-rich and Kfs-rich leucosome formation was triggered by dehydration melting involving predominant zoisite and muscovite. The anatectic melts from partial melting of deeply subducted UHP gneiss have accumulated and migrated outside the deeply subducted crustal slice in the form of syn -collisional plutons. The melt evolution from the leucosomes produced at the early exhumation stage to syn-collisional granitoids produced at the late exhumation, might contribute greatly to the exhumation of the North Qaidam UHP metamorphic belt from mantle depths to the lower crustal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kyanite eclogites can provide insights into global orogenic processes within subduction-collision zones. Here we present an integrated study of the petrography, mineral chemistry, zircon U-Pb geochronology, and whole-rock geochemistry of granulitized kyanite eclogites from South Altyn Tagh, located at the northern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, China. Our results suggest that the rocks experienced eclogite-facies metamorphism (27–37 kbar, 1030–1068 °C), followed by a high pressure-ultra-high temperature (HP-UHT) stage (17–20 kbar, 945–1033 °C), isothermal decompression, and a medium pressure-(ultra)-high temperature (MP-(U)HT) (10–12 kbar, 810–950 °C) granulite-facies overprint. Zircon U-Pb dating yielded a weighted mean U-Pb age of ca. 500 Ma for the metamorphic domains, which is interpreted as the timing of HP-UHT metamorphism. In contrast, the age of ca. 800 Ma recorded by the inherited cores of zircon grains is considered to represent the protolith formation age. High Al 2 O 3 and CaO and relatively low MgO and FeO contents, LREE enrichment and nearly flat HREE patterns, and enriched Sr-Nd isotopic compositions suggest that the protoliths of the granulitized kyanite eclogites were likely derived from an enriched mantle source affected by crustal contamination. These results, together with previous research on these associations suggested that the protoliths of granulitized kyanite eclogites and associated garnet peridotite in the Bashiwake area are derived from mafic-ultramafic intrusions composed of plagioclase-rich gabbroic rocks and olivine-rich cumulates. These mafic-ultramafic intrusions were possibly generated by plume-induced melting related to the rifting of the Rodinia supercontinent during the Neoproterozoic, and were later subjected to early Paleozoic metamorphism. The geodynamic model proposed envisages continental subduction followed by relamination of felsic and mafic-ultramafic associations at the base of the lower crust, which were subsequently exhumed, forming diapir-like bodies. Our results, combined with those from previous studies, not only provide insights into the processes of continental collision to exhumation, but also provide significant constraints on the geotectonic processes leading to the formation of HP rocks within subduction-collision orogens. • The U-Pb dating of metamorphic zircons at ca. 500 Ma represented the HP-UHT stage. • The distinct metamorphic events were documented by Y+REEs concentrations in the garnet grain. • REE-based thermobarometer suggests the granulitized kyanite eclogite has recorded the UHP metamorphism. • A tectonic model of subduction-relamination is proposed for the geodynamic evolution of the granulite-peridotite unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]